Effortless

oooOOOooohhhh Holy hell... Why did it take me SO long to start this series? I know in the grand scheme of things my thought process was that I wanted to read them once it was closer to the release of the final book in the series but now I am just sat thinking about all of the additional time in my life that I could have had to obsess over Kellan Kyle. I will never forgive myself for all of that wasted time.“And he was the reason I felt it. His gaze, his touch, his smile, his laugh, no one had ever made me feel... worshiped... quite like he did.”I will only give this warning once... I do not like posting spoilers and will avoid it however I can but this is the second book in a three book series and it will be impossible for me to say anything about it without giving some of the details from book one away so please listen to this warning if you haven’t read Thoughtless and you plan to then please proceed with caution.Effortless starts off pretty much just after Thoughtless ends. Kellan and Kiera are finally together and everything is going along swimmingly. Kellan’s band, The D-Bags, have always had their own fan base but after playing Bumbershoot, a local Seattle music festival, they are finally properly noticed and asked to go on a cross-country tour which will feature several different bands. Kiera has one final year left in college and can not join him on the tour. So this is where we are... Thoughtless was about Kellan and Kiera getting together through all of the pain and heartbreak of the love triangle and cheating. Effortless is putting their relationship to the test as distance becomes the new point of the triangle.“I love you more. I love you enough to let you go and live your dream." I tilted my head and shrugged. "Don't you see....? I love you more."He smiled softly and I brushed some hair off his forehead. Running the backs of my fingers down his cheek, I whispered, "And, yes, I will miss you, more than you could possibly imagine, but I know that you have to do this Kellan. And you know it too."Stubbornly he shook his head. "No, I know that I have to be with you. Everything else is just .... details.”It is no secret that Kiera annoyed the crap out of me in Thoughtless. I will admit that I warmed to her quite a bit in Effortless. Did every one of her decisions make sense? Hell no! The difference between then and now is that I ‘sort of’ understood why she made some of the decisions that she did. Of course with Kellan’s philandering past she is somewhat nervous about him being out on the road. We all know what follows rock stars around... groupies.“Loving you, Kellan, is so easy, it's effortless."His smile matched mine, then I frowned and sighed "Trusting you... that's the hard part”However, we must stop and see this from Kellan’s point of view as well. Kellan may have been a player before he fell in love with Kiera but he has never had a relationship before. Therefore he has never cheated on a girlfriend before. Kiera on the other hand was of course with Denny when she met Kellan.. She made the decision to cheat before. Kellan isn’t so sure that when he is gone, when she is lonely, that she won’t make that decision again.They both must work through their trust issues and with the distance separating them it is harder than ever. Two things can happen in this scenario. The distance can make them closer than ever... or it can tear them apart.“But, if for some reason we're not closer, if something has gotten between us, please, I'm begging you… don't give up on me. Stay. Stay with me. Work it out with me. Just don't leave me… please.”Kellan is one of the most romantic men I have ever read. One of my favorite parts of this book were the notes he left for Kiera. He knows it is going to be difficult to be apart and he tries to keep him on her mind as often as possible. Before he left he wrote hundreds of little notes and kept them all over the place. The above quote is from one of my favorites and thankfully it helped her through a particularly low point.“I'll still be with you every night, Kiera. Every night, no matter where I am, crawling into bed with you. Our bed will be a lot bigger, miles wide, but it will just be you and me inside it.”I can’t even imagine how difficult it is to be so far away from the love of your life for such long periods of time. They do of course get to see each other every now and again. But their relationship started out on fire and it was such an emotional rollercoaster, for it to be so new and now they are apart... I was feeling every single up and down with them. In my review for Thoughtless I had said that it was hard to explain the feelings that you experience while reading it and the same hold true for Effortless. You are willing these two together from start to finish and with every up and down you are right there wanting to just help them through it all.“I actually took a step back as each of their eyes met mine. Evan's was sympathetic; that scared me. Matt's was appraising; that concerned me. Griffins's was irritated; that...was really nothing new.”I feel bad about never mentioning the side characters in my review of Thoughtless. The band, Evan, Matt and yes even Griffin are all wonderfully written. They are one big family and are always there for each other. Kellan had a rough childhood, honestly rough doesn’t even cover it, but he has always had these friends. He still has a hard time coming to understand how much they actually love him and see him as family, not just another member of the band.Kiera’s sister Anna is another great character. I have to admit when she first entered the scene in Thoughtless I wasn’t a fan but she has grown –up a lot and I really love her now. I am so glad she was there for Kiera while Kellan was away because there was no way that she would have survived without her.“Kiera, I don't want to tell you how to handle your relationship with him, but... you'll never last if you start lying to him.”Then there is of course Denny. Yes Denny is still around. I was at first nervous when he came back into the picture. I had trust issues with Kiera and to be honest some of the ‘innocent’ thoughts that were going on in her head frightened me. But in the end I think he has turned into a loving friend and I am happy he has come back into their lives. It wasn’t right what went down between the three of them but I think he understands now that there was never a way it wouldn't have happened. Kiera and Kellan are meant to be together.“Don't leave me," I begged, when I found air to speak.Kellan wrapped his arms around me just as tight. Voice cracking he murmured, "I won't... I'm yours, Kiera, for as long as you want me."Pulling back I cupped his face. "Forever, I want you forever.”I am also really happy about how this book ended... I honestly feel that both Thoughtless and now Effortless ended in a way that if that was it for the series I would have been happy. Thankfully it isn’t the end though there is the third and final book, Reckless. This means even more Kellan.Even though I know it will be filled with more ups and downs and I am sure I will shed even more tears along the way, there is no way I am not immediately starting it. Kiera and Kellan have both wrapped themselves so tightly around my heart and I am dying to know how it all ends. Although, there is always the chance that it will not be a ‘Happily Ever After’ but I just know these two will find a way to be together forever. Plus, if they don’t, I think there will be a lot of readers out there tracking down the author with pitchforks... I’m sure she doesn’t want that.“My day isn’t complete until I’m deep inside you. Your body wrapped around mine is the only way I feel whole. But don’t think it’s just sex and a physical response to you that I’m feeling. It’s not… it’s so much more. You’ve opened me in a way that leaves me bleeding, vulnerable. Being with you, making love to you, it only solidifies what I feel for you. I know that I’ve become one of those spouting, love-sick idiots, but what it all boils down to is three words that don’t mean nearly enough… I love you.”ChristineRainy Day Reads

Warning: If you haven’t read Thoughtless yet, you may want to wait until you have before reading this review.“Loving you, Kellan, is so easy, it’s effortless.” His smile matched mine, then I frowned and sighed. “Trusting you… that’s the hard part.”What an amazing follow up to the first book in this series, Thoughtless! That book messed with my head and ripped my heart out, and I loved every second of it. I love how this book continued their journey, and not just Kellan and Kiera, but Denny too. Similar to the first book, this one didn’t hold anything back and it dealt with the huge elephant in the room (Kiera and Kellan’s betrayal of Denny) head on. I really loved how things weren’t all comfy and cozy for Kellan and Kiera just because they were in love and finally together. Relationships are hard work and I think they definitely realized that during the course of this book and they had a sea of issues, totally legitimate issues, that they had to work through if they wanted to make theirs work.‘That’s what you get when your relationship starts by betraying someone – a never-ending well of doubt.’We pick up with Kellan and Kiera a few months after the end of Thoughtless, they are together and in love but still taking things slow because they want to do things right this time. I love that they didn’t just jump right back into things full on but instead allowed their relationship to build in a way that they weren’t able to the first time. I think this is important for what they have to face coming up because Kellan’s band is starting to get recognized by other bands and before long they are asked to go on a tour of the US that will keep them away for 6 months. It’s a huge opportunity for them and one that they’d be crazy not to take, but it’s eerily similar to the situation that brought them together (when Denny was called away for work and Kiera was left alone and turned to Kellan) so naturally it brings all of their insecurities about their relationship to the surface. Kellan is hesitant to go because he knows what happened when Kiera was left alone the last time and while Kiera would never hold another man back from his dreams, she is worried that Kellan will give in to temptation while on the road because she still isn’t sure what exactly Kellan sees in her that makes her so special to him. Of course things happen and while they each claim to be totally committed to each other still, doubts creep in. I’m not going to lie, as much as I love Kellan and didn’t really believe he’d betray Kiera, things that happened started to raise doubts in my mind too. And while Kiera has matured considerably since the last book, there were a few decisions she made that had me face palming again! But despite what happens, there was never a doubt in my mind that Kellan and Kiera loved each other, truly and completely and I had to maintain confidence that they could make it through whatever was thrown their way!I spent most of the first book wanting to throttle Kiera, she was so selfish and I hated the way she played Kellan and Denny. The only reason I didn’t hate her was because she was truly remorseful and was never intentionally cruel, she just didn’t know what to do with the situation and was afraid of hurting someone (which of course caused her to hurt the both of them even worse). But one of the things that I really liked about this book was that she was still trying to atone for her actions and she definitely learned from her mistakes, she made a conscious effort to not put anyone through that again. She showed considerable growth in this book and had definitely matured so much from the time we first met her, I look forward to seeing where else she’ll go as the series wraps up.I fell hard for Kellan in the first book and this book only made me fall harder. What a wonderfully written character, being a super-hot rock star he could have easily been written to be a jerk but he’s actual incredibly sensitive, thoughtful, kind and loving. For never being in a real relationship before he sure is good at it! I LOVED the notes he left for Kiera to find while he was out on tour and the gifts, texts and phone calls. He really is incredible and it was so great seeing that part of him that was always missing come to life now that he’s found love. My heart broke for him a little though as more was revealed about his past but I loved the events of the last chapter and I really hope that we learn more about that in the next book.I wasn’t sure how much of Denny to expect in this book, I thought maybe it would just focus on Kellan and Kiera’s relationship, but Denny is actually a big part of this book. I was so glad for that because as much as I love Kellan, I totally love Denny too and still thinking of what happened in the first book makes me so sad for him (even though he’s doing ok and has a new relationship, it still hurts). Some of their earlier phone calls just clear broke my heart hearing Denny recall what happened. But this is a book of healing, and Denny is definitely included in that. I loved where the three of them end up by the time this book ends.All in all this was another great book, I loved the ending, so many great things happened in that last chapter, I get a little teary eyed just thinking back on it. I can’t wait to see how it all wraps up and then I can’t wait to read Kellan’s POV in the new book that’s about to be released, because I am not quite ready to let these characters go yet! I know that I will think back to them often!“This isn’t goodbye, okay. There are no goodbyes… not between us.”

I couldn't wait to start this book after reading Thoughtless. I loved Kellan and Keira and I wanted to know if they could make a go of things. I know they could be a great couple.I was completely hooked from the start, I loved the storyline, I got to love Kellan even more, we got to find out more about him and to see him in a real relationship.Kellan and Keira are a perfect couple, the work so well together. They bounce off each other and balance one another.There were so many unexpected things that happened throughout this book, I had to re-read the chapter just to make sure I had read it properly and I had imagined in.I had this belief in Kellan from the start that Keira didn't seem to. I saw the love in his eyes for her that he would never hurt her the way she thought he would.Learning more about Kellan's past broke my heart, I was crying so much I couldn't see the page. He is this broken man underneath, something he only lets Keira see now and again. It just made my heart swell for him even more.I loved the change in Griffin at the end, it was so unexpected but I'm hoping he will change even more throughout Reckless.I can not wait to start reading Reckless and see what happens next.These characters are addictive, you just feel like you could read about them for the rest of their life and never get bored of them.

As soon as I had read Thoughtless I downloaded Effortless straight away as I just could not wait to get back into the roller coaster ride I knew this book would bring. I was not disappointed! I could not put this book down and was up all night reading, phone off the hook type of book.I had grown to like Keira by the end of Thoughtless but in this book I grew to LOVE Keira. She had matured from her blushing, naive self (really at 22?) to a woman who knew what she wanted. Sometimes the way she went about this still frustrated me so there were plenty of expletives still being shouted at my kindle!I loved that Denny was back in the story and great to see how Keira and he moved on from being just "ex" boyfriend/girlfriend with all that happened at the end of Thoughtless.As for Kellan *sigh* oh yes the wonderful Kellan. This beautiful man and his vulnerabilities just had me in tears. To everyone else he was a bad ass rock star with a reputation with the groupies but oh how wrong they all were. His love for Keira and his PDA's just blew me away. Oh the love notes, the flowers, the looks and hell yeah - the bathroom sex!Great to see Griffin again too - this man just cracks me up. Loved hearing about his "Hulk" and how he was always happy to be "handled" OMG hahahaAgain, in this book as in Thoughtless, there were parts I felt needed more but as I was reading this I saw the follow up is currently being written. I am so glad as although the ending was just gorgeous, there was still so much to explore. Even saying that it needed more, I still LOVED this book and I can't wait for the next one. Definitely a series for my re-reads. Thank you SC Stephens, you ROCK!

Wow, what can I say. I've read all of the series, in one week I might add, and I think kellan Kyle might just be one of my favourites now. Such an emotional rollarcoster ride. This author took me to places I was a little uncomfortable reading. I think cheating is wrong and that is that and at first I didn't know if this would be the book for me, however someone really recommended that I stick with this author as she is very good, and I'm so glad I did. I felt this author was trying to tell us people make mistakes and that the consequences of these mistakes can be really bad. In the end the author took us on a journey about lies, betrayal, honesty, truth and soul deep renching love. I cried in all three books, it totally blew me away. Kiera's character was interesting, I could of said she annoyed me at first, but looking back through all three books, I think she was trying to make the female character grow from a young girl into a woman and IMO she got that right in book three. I really grew to love kellan Keira and Denny.x

I was really looking forward to this second installment from S C Stephens. Effortless carries on from were Thoughtless ended and Kiera and Kellan are trying to slowly build a relationship together, but how can a trusting relationship be built between two people who have hurt each other in the past. This is also complicated with Kellan man whore reputation and the fact that Kiera cheated on Denny with Kellan. Extra strain is put on the couple when the Dbags go on a six month concert tour, will the couple remain strong, and can love conquer the nagging doubts of trust??"That's what you get when your relationship starts by betraying someone-a never ending well of doubt. If we could do it to someone, it could be done to us"I enjoyed Kiera so much more in this book, yes sometimes you were chuntering at your Kindle but you could see she had really matured and not just as a person but in her relationship as well. She made better choices and didn't run away from conflict but wanted to talk it out. For me this made her a much more like able female lead. Kellan was his usual divine self *sigh*!! I loved his venerability in this book he is totally besotted and in love with Kiera and afraid he is going to loose her. I absolutely loved his love notes to her which he hides for her to find while he is away on tour. You can understand why Kellan is a top loved book boyfriend!!"I hid this one in the hopes that you would find it long after I'm gone. I hope you find this months from now, when I'm still out there, on the road, away from you. I can't imagine what the time apart has done to us. I'm hoping were closer. I'm hoping we're more in love than ever....I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so much. But, if for some reason we're not closer, if something has come between us, please, I'm begging you..don't give up on me. Stay. Stay with me. Work it out with me. Just don't leave me... please. I love you, always, Kellan" **swoon!!!**The rest of the Dbags and their girls were also present and Griffin turned it up a notch, with some great lines.I'm more than intrigued as to how the third installment will pan out as Effortless felt like a completed story, but I will be more than happy to read on :)

Oh dear...this is what happens with sequels to films, they are never as good as the first film.I'm disappointed in this book. I found it all really predictable and knew what 'problem' was going to come next for Keira and Kellan.Also, for a lot of the book they are apart and I found myself skipping those parts.I have often wondered about people who have an affair with each other, how they manage to trust each other. I have always thought if they cheat with you, they will cheat on you. So in this story, we have Keira and Kellan having little trust of each other which is not helped by Kellan's long absences touring with his band.I still love Kellan, he's a great character and so in love with Keira. His love notes are a lovely touch and he doesn't cry as much in this book which I was relieved about!I don't agree with some of Keira's decisions in this book and found it a bit unrealistic after what they went through in book one.I know the author is writing a third instalment and I'm wondering where she is going with the story...can they really carry on hurting each other yet loving each other so much?I will read the third book as I do like the authors style of writing but I'm sorry to say, this one is nowhere as good as Thoughtless.